Blac Chyna is a name that’s long been associated with the Kardashian family for a variety of reasons—and the reasons are only getting more varied!
E! News has confirmed that Rob Kardashian is dating the 27-year-old mother of Tyga‘s son King (excuse us while we untangle ourselves from the web for a second), and there are those in Rob’s inner circle who aren’t exactly thrilled by the new—and yet not new, because they’ve known each other for ages—lady in his life.
But Blac Chyna, whose real name is Angela Renée White, isn’t just all about Kard sightings and not-so-subtle Instagram shade. She’s built a brand and a huge social media presence just by being…well, Blac Chyna! So here are five things to know about her:
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1. She’s a Businesswoman: The trained beautician has owned Lashed Bar in Encino, Calif.—where services range from the Chyna Express 20-minute facial to teeth whitening to, of course, lash extensions—since 2014.
2. She Banked on Her Curves: Though only 5-foot-2, Blac Chyna’s lady lumps pack quite the punch. After reputedly starting out as a stripper, she cracked the pop-culture ceiling as a model and bootylicious hip-hop muse. Drake name-checked her and famous strip club King of Diamonds in “Miss Me” (“Someone tell Maliah I’m on fire, she should work tonight / Call up King of Diamonds and tell Chyna it’d be worth the flight”); she played a damsel in distress in Tyga’s “Rack City” music video; Nicki Minaj name-checked her in 2 Chainz’ “I Luv Dem Strippers”; and most recently she cozied up to Future in his “Rich $ ex” video.
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3. Amanda Bynes Was a Big Fan: Back when Bynes was experimenting with a new look that included a cheek piercing and thick blond bangs, she flat-out told In Touch, “I want to look like Blac Chyna.” That was almost three years ago, so that was all Amanda and other imitators have just been jumping on the Blac Chyna bandwagon since.
4. She Was Kim Kardashian’s Friend First: Blac Chyna and Tyga attended Kim and Kanye West‘s destination wedding in Italy, meaning they (or at least she and her plus-one) were among the relatively intimate crowd of 200 who saw the I-dos go down. Though she and Kim haven’t been hanging out since Tyga and Kylie Jenner became close, Blac Chyna was a co-star in the Instagram pic in which Kim first showed off a clear view of her diamond wedding band as a married woman.
5. About Twinning With Nicki Minaj…: No, it’s not just you who noticed. In fact, Blac Chyna served as Nicki’s body double in the hit-maker’s “Monster” video in 2010. “That day, it was so crazy,” she recalled to 305Honeys.com the following year. “Nicki Minaj, she wasn’t there yet. Rick Ross was there…He was cool. But the shoot was kinda crazy—it was scary in the beginning for me because they had to tie me up and put a bag over my face. Now mind you, I don’t know any of these men…and they have to tie me up to literally where I couldn’t even move, so that was really scary. But when Nicki got on the set, I was good.”
“Nicki Minaj actually kinda gets on me and gives me a little show, so that was kinda interesting and fun, a little lap dance,” Blac Chyna smiled.
The shapely ladies started hanging out again last year after Nicki dissed Tyga in “Feeling Myself,” so the game of musical pals really knows no limits.
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